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A comment on Kale, cauliflower, cabbage, broccoli, Brussels sprouts are all the same species. Parent comment

Re:Kale, cauliflower, cabbage, broccoli, Brussels sprouts ar... by cstross on Wednesday August 06, 2014 @06:27PM (#8145222)
I'm not convinced that they are still the same species; can one assert that we have, through artificial selection, induced speciation?

One word: "dogs".

(Are you skeptical that chihuahuas and huskies are the same species? Some dog breeds are incapable of mating successfully without artificial insemination, or reproducing effectively -- think of a great dane foetus gestating in a female chihuahua -- but within a small single-digit number of generations they can produce hybridised "mutts" that are interfertile. Similarly, the brassicae are pretty much the same thing.)

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Re:Kale, cauliflower, cabbage, broccoli, Brussels sprouts ar... by daveslash on Wednesday August 06, 2014 @07:31PM (#8145470)
It has been suggested that we consider dogs to be separate species. I completely agree with that, but without human intervention, wouldn't breeds that can't reproduce naturally (great dane & chihuahua) most likely lead to separate species given enough time? http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/an-immodest-propos...
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